Favorite Vanilla Bean Cake

Close up of vanilla layer cake on a green plate.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cake, vanilla cake

Prep Time: 45

Cook Time: 45

Total Time: 1 30

Servings: slices

Calories: 443kcal

Author: Kara @I Scream for Buttercream

This vanilla bean cake is super moist, full of vanilla flavor, is rich and buttery, made from scratch and covered in buttercream. It's the best vanilla cake I've ever had and I have a feeling it will quickly become your family's favorite.

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US Customary - Metric

Ingredients

3 cups cake flour (not all-purpose flour, see FAQs in the post for substitutions)
2 cups granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, only slightly cooler than room temperature (2 sticks)
1 cup sour cream
½ cup whole milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
½ teaspoon almond emulsion (optional)
3 large eggs
Vanilla Bean Buttercream (recipe link in the notes section)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (You will turn the oven temperature down to 325 degrees F once you put the cakes in the oven.)
Grease and flour two 8" round cake pans. (If making cupcakes, read notes below)
Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk well. Set aside.
In another bowl, combine the sour cream, milk, oil, vanilla bean paste, almond extract and eggs. Mix well with a whisk and set aside.
Cut the almost room-temperature butter into chunks. Turn the mixer on low and slowly add the butter, a bit at a time, to the dry ingredients. Once all the butter has been added, mix on medium to medium-high until all the flour is coated with the butter and the mixture is crumbly. It should have a sand-like texture.
If the butter is too warm or if it's mixed for too long, it will form a paste and this will not produce a good cake texture.
Pour about a third of the liquid mixture. into the dry mixture and mix on low to medium until well combined...about 30 seconds to one minute. (Some reverse creaming recipes call for mixing 1-2 minutes at this stage, but be careful about mixing longer than a minute as mixing for too long will cause a dense cake.)
Pour the last of the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and mix again until well combined. Don't overmix the batter at this point. Stop mixing once everything is well incorporated, usually no more than about 20-30 seconds.
Use a silicone spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Mix again for only about 10 to 15 seconds.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pans.
Slide the cake pans into the oven and turn the oven temp down to 325 degrees F (unless you're making these as cupcakes, in which case you'll want to read the notes below).
Bake at 325 degrees F for approximately 40-45 minutes. The cakes are done when a toothpick inserted into the center of each layer comes out with a few moist crumbs on it or clean, but no raw batter.
Set on wire racks to cool for ten minutes, then turn the cakes out onto the racks and let them cool out of the pans completely before adding buttercream frosting.

Notes

Buttercream recipe: Vanilla Bean Buttercream

For cupcakes: Fill 2 cupcake pans (24 cupcakes) with cupcake liners and fill with batter about ⅔ of the way full. Bake at 350 degrees F (do not turn the temperature down to 325) and bake for about 15-25 minutes depending on the size of your oven. Start checking for doneness at around 12 minutes just to be sure. You may have a bit of cake batter left over, but you can chill that batter and make the remaining cupcakes when the others have baked.

Storage: This cake can be stored covered at room temperature for several days as long as it's not covered or filled with a perishable frosting. To prolong freshness, the cake can then be covered and stored in the refrigerator for a few additional days.

How to serve: This cake is best served close to room temperature, especially since it's made with butter. If the cake is cold, set it out to come closer to room temperature for about 20-30 minutes before serving. You can also pop a slice in the microwave to warm up a bit.

Freezing: The cake layers can be frozen for up to a couple of months. Wrap well with plastic wrap, then in foil.

Make sure to check out the TIPS & FAQs for this recipe in the blog post, which may answer questions you may have about substitutions, mixing method etc.

Nutritional values are an estimate.

*This recipe card may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition